Amongst all the partying, volunteering, playing, and socializing, there is also the brick and mortar of the community, i.e. its infrastructure, its landscaping, its homes, and its entrance, and what is expected when this entrance to our community is seen for the first time. It is a reflection of how the community and its HOA oversees itself. After all, the folks are paying to be in a community with an expected maintained and attractive entrance, with all its amenities, other than a community without these perks.
There are several other HOA communities that have a “statement” entrance, and all of them show pride in their appearance, i.e. they display an ongoing maintenance policy, e.g. well irrigated green grass and shrubbery, and pressure washed monuments and roadways. BTW – the fees of these communities are much less than in Aquarina, even when factoring in amenities, which they do not have to the extent as Aquarina. But unfortunately, in spite of its stature and higher costs, Aquarina falters and lags behind these other HOA communities in its “statement” entrance. Just glance at these other entrances when driving down Hwy A1A to your Aquarina home.
The Aquarina entrance has not been changed since its inception in the mid 1980’s, and it shows its age not only in style but in its tired condition. The photos below attest to this perception. As you know, the golf course appearance, and the golf infrastructure and its support mechanisms have been improved from our funds. Why is our entrance, which impacts the whole community ignored? As this Blog has continually expounded, our community and its Board have been hijacked by a selfish and self-serving cabal of folks whose agenda is for a golf oriented social community. This cabal has blind eyes to Aquarina’s total amenities and needs, where a measured application of effort and funds should be allocated, e.g. Aquarina’s dying entrance, which is the curb appeal for our whole community. The entrance can add to our community’s value or it can detract from our community’s value. At this time, our community’s value has been diminished because of neglect and being ignored by a Board which has the fiduciary responsibility to maintain it.
Some of the immediate items for remediation are:
- The irrigation system needs to be totally checked for repair and replacement.
- New sod is needed where existing grass areas are dead.
- The Entrance monument area needs new colorful planting and precision cutting. Maybe a water feature can be installed in the future seen by passing motorists and the general public.
- The monument lettering needs repainting or replacement as does the signage at the entrance to the golf club.
- The roadway pavers need pressure washing, resetting, and in some areas, replacement, e.g. spilled tar and paint cover them. In addition to the presentation, aren’t you tired by the bump, bump, bump, as you drive through the entrance? It’s annoying and cries out for fixing.
- The electric lighting should be totally checked for repair and replacement.
- Roadways need to be black top coated and gutters pressure washed.
- Re-striping of the roadways is needed.
These remediation efforts will serve the whole community by adding value not only to the community at large, but to the community’s home values too. BTW – the cabal Board voted to put off roadway work for future years. What happened to providing and funding yearly reserves for the remediation items listed above? Our nearly $1.5M of paid yearly fees for the Board’s Budget is spent, not on building our reserve funds, for what is desperately needed, but on splash for the golf course, and subsidizing the golf business, the restaurant, parties, and events.
Thank you for your well researched and well analyzed evaluation. Clearly the Board is not doing their job. They are neglecting our front entrance and our ACSA properties and funneling most of our assessment dollars to AGI to be wasted on golf course. $181,000 on bunkers. Really. No wonder all of our accountants and bookkeepers quit. Maybe our newly self appointed CFO can answer this question
Your pictures show the truth. What would $181,000 do for our front entrance? Maybe a board member can answer this question. But I doubt they have the courage to do so. The board is spending our assessment $$$ on attorneys to fight residents who just want AGI financial disclosure required by statute. Why? I do hope other residents have the courage to speak up and comment on your blog. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your response and support. The truth will prevail.
who are you trying to impress?? And please don’t say that our property values would go up because of the entrance. We were told our property values would go up with the golf course; with the community center; with the tennis program; with the Beach Club; etc. Nothing will make our property values go up
until we make our HOA fees go down.
Hello Fellow Aquarina Resident,
Thank you for your Comment to the Blog Post. I agree with most of what you say; however, there are three items for which I’ll respond otherwise.
1) As an Aquarina Resident and a multiple property owner here since 1995, and a Realtor in Melbourne Beach since 1981, I can certainly attest that community entrances play a large part in the community’s presentation and in the community’s resulting home values. If the entrances are well kept and have some splash, as some do, then a holding and an increase of these home values will occur. That is a textbook fact.
2) I am really not trying to impress anyone. What I am reporting is to be a advocate of some truths and realities within our Aquarina Community that need to be addressed. Your Comment is a great start to creating a community dialogue about these Blog observations that I (An Aquarina Voice) have observed after residing here for decades. They are reasonable observations of fact, and they should be discussed, since they can be easily seen existing in a manner that is not serving the whole community in a positive way.
3) With respect to HOA fees and property values, the spending and increase of fees can be to support the amenities and infrastructure of a community in a prudent and fiduciary manner OR the spending and increase of fees can be to feed a one dimensional policy and/or socialization that does not reflect or serve the whole community. It’s this latter spending and increase of fees that may drive values down. Well maintained communities with paced increases and crafted savings do not suffer from diminishing home values. However, communities with a Board that pushes a one dimensional policy on its Residents, and spends and makes changes to the community without a discussion and a vote, may be perceived as a community where diminishing home values can occur.
He is right . Our property values can not ever go up until our assessments go down. Thanks you all for your comments and analysis . We need to stop the agi sucking and bleeding ACSA for a never to anything but marginal golf course. I am glad that former board member John Miller finally gets it. your blog is really getting conversation and interest in our community. Thank you. This is what we need and will lead to needed change. Let’s review. A $61,00 golf cart washing station. $181,000 on golf bunker refurbishment. Are bunkers a major part of golf? No. why waste that kind of valuable assessment dollars for that when we need so much for beach club and front entrance. Can we make Aquarina great again? Yes but not with this spend happy golf crazy board. Mr John if you wAnt to get our assessments down as you say then get on the board ok
Thanks for your response. Hopefully, some others will chime in with their perspective.